Dreams and Nightmares
by AndreaMcGeth
Summary: What will happen when Hanna, Aria, Alison, Spencer and Emily finds themselves in a race against time to stop A once and for all after a grave visit results in a family secret coming to light?
1. Road Between

It's 11:34am on a windy March morning. Alison decided to go to the graveyard and visit her mother with Emily. Hanna tags along so she can visit Mona. They walk into the graveyard, each holding a bouquet of flowers.

"I'll be on the other side of the graveyard," Hanna said.

"Do you want us to go with you when we're done?" Emily asked.

"No. I need to do this alone."

"Just text us if you need us."

"Okay," Hanna says in a doleful tone. She nods and walks away to Mona's grave. Alison and Emily walk to Mrs. DiLaurentis' grave. Alison looks at her mother's headstone, put her hand over her mouth and started crying. Emily turned Alison around and wrapped her arms around her. "I can't do this, Em." She cried harder.

"You have to be strong Ali." Emily wiped Alison's tears away. "I'll be right here," she says. Alison takes a deep breathe. She took a few steps closer to her mother's headstone. She started fiddling with the flowers in the bouquet.

"I'm sorry mom." Tears started rolling down the side of her face. "I hated you so much for protecting the person who tried to kill me. But during my time away, I've managed to forgive you because I realized it was all my fault." She wiped her tears away. "If I didn't treat people the way I did, none of this would've happened. I would still have you in my life." Tears started to roll down Emily's cheek. "For those two years I was away, I've regretted not reaching out to you. I just wish I could hear your voice again. I wish I could hear you yelling at me to clean my room or do the dishes."

Alison took another deep breath, trying to hold back her tears. "But now it's too late. When I saw your body, my whole world came crashing down. I hated the feeling I had when I realized I was never gonna hear your voice again. And I wish you could get to see your little girl grown up. I finally found someone that makes me happy and knowing that you won't be here by my side, hurts so bad." Alison started crying again. Emily grabbed her hand. "Before I go, I just want you to know something." She paused. "I love you mom and I'm sorry for everything." She looked at the flowers. "I know roses were your favorite." She laid the bouquet of Roses on her mothers grave. She blew a kiss to her mothers headstone. Emily laid down her bouquet of roses as well. "I'll miss you," Ali said. She turned around to Emily. "Thank you so much for being here, Em."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." They started to walk back to the car. She looked at Alison.

"Do you feel better knowing you finally got to say goodbye?" Alison looked at the ground and then back at Emily.

"Yeah. It just sucks, you know." She paused. "I need my mom, Emily." Tears started rolling down her face again.

"I know. Come here." She brought Alison closer to her and wrapped her arms around her.

"I love you so much, Em."

"I love you too, Ali."

At the same time Ali was talking to her mother, Hanna arrived at Mona's grave with her bouquet of flowers. She walked closer to Mona's headstone.

"Mona, if you're listening, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything. You were my best friend when no one else wanted to be. You were there for me through everything that I've been through. You may have been the cause of some of those things, but I know you only did those things out of love for me." She takes a deep breath. "I felt so bad for treating you the way I did. You didn't deserve to be deserted when the other girls and I became close again when the real reason we became close again was because of A." She paused. "Because of you."

She fiddled with the flowers. "I still remember when we went shopping and and that ladies wig fell off." She laughed as she remembered the moment. "We had some crazy times together. Remember that summer you stayed at my house and we left that fake note on the kitchen table saying we were gonna run away? My mom searched the whole house and she called the cops. I felt so bad but it was so funny. If only she looked in the basement. We were down there for like five hours, waiting to see if she would come down there to check but she never did." She looked at the other flowers on Mona's headstone. "You were the best friend that I ever had. And I don't know what I'm gonna do without you in my life." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry Mona. You didn't deserve to die like that. You were just trying to help." She wipeed her cheek. "I love you. And I'm gonna miss you so much." She laid the roses down on Mona's grave. She began to walk back to the other side of the graveyard when she heard someone whispering her name.

"Hanna," the voice said, whispering.

"Who's out there?" she yelled.

"Hanna it's me." Hanna turned around and sees a familiar face coming from behind a bush. She squinted her eyes. "Mona?"

"Surprise!" Mona said, trying to lighten the situation.

"But, you're dead."

"Do I look dead to you?"

"But if you're not dead, then whose funeral did we go to? Please don't tell me this is like the Alison thing all over again."

"Well, kinda. Sorta. Then again, no. It's nothing like the Alison thing."

"Is there even anyone in your grave?"

"No, they didn't find a body, remember? But the person who died was very special to me."

"Who?" Hanna said, searching her mind trying to find an answer.

"My sister."

"Your sister?"

"Yeah. My identical twin sister. Her name was Mina."

"You had a twin?" She looked at Mona with a shocked yet confused look on her face.

"Look Hanna, I don't have much time. Come with me to my car."

"Why?"

"I can't risk anyone seeing me." Hanna walked with Mona to her car. They got in the car and continued their conversation.

"But how could that have been your sister? You were in Radley... twice."

"I know. That's where things get crazy." Mona took a deep breath.


	2. That's What I Call Crazy

"My sister was a patient at Radley a year before you and I became friends. After you guys found out I was A, Toby brought back Dr. Sullivan so she could diagnose me with a mental illness and I was sent to Radley and not jail."

"That's why you were sent to Radley and not jail?"

"Well, you can't exactly send crazy people to jail, Hanna. However, there were things that I could have went to jail for."

"Wow," Hanna replied.

"Anyway, I as Mina, was released from Radley a couple days ago. My sister and I, we pretended to be each other a lot. When I was released from Radley the first time, that was actually Mina. She wanted to be free, Hanna. But the only way she could do so was if she took my place. I told her everything and I gave her Ali's diary. She was with you guys, pretending to be me. I was the one who helped her with that apology video. When she came to Radley to visit me, we would switch back. I was able to come and see you. I was the one who made Spencer believe Toby was dead and I was also there the night of the lodge fire. I was the one who helped you with a fake confession and when you faked being my friend for information. My sister was in Radley. When I confessed to killing Wilden, they sent me back to Radley."

"Why did you confess?"

"Because I loved you, Hanna. I still do and I would've done anything for you and Mrs. M. Anyways, Mina decided she wanted to stay in Radley. Living a lie and all the bad that happened, it became too much for her until after I was released from my second court appointed time out. From that point on, you saw Mina and not me. The day before Thanksgiving she told me about Mike.

She also told me she and Spencer snuck into Radley and that she had a plan to figure out who A was. At the time, I as Mina, had a four day home pass for the holidays. I knew that she was in too deep. I told her it was dangerous but she didn't care. I couldn't stop her because my mom watched my every move. I couldn't even leave the house. I was actually there when you guys came to talk to me, well her. Early on Thanksgiving morning, I went to my aunts house in Philly. Later that day, I was told that she was dead. It's all my fault." Mona started crying.

"I thought getting revenge on Alison and keeping my friendship with you was more important and now my sister is dead," Mona continued. Hanna wrapped her arms around Mona.

A few seconds pass by.

"When Spencer went to Radley, she never mentioned seeing you there."

"That's cause she saw Mina, not me. Spencer knew about Mina and in exchange for her silence, I released Toby from his duties. I wanted to help you guys. I don't think she knows that Mina was the one that died. But Hanna, please don't tell anyone."

"I promise. So what's gonna happen now?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow morning."

"What? Why?"

"If A finds out that I'm alive, she's gonna kill me."

"She? Mona, do you know who A is?"

"No, but haven't you always felt like it was a girl?"

"Kinda. Well, do you know anything?" She asked Mona.

"I know _some_ stuff. I know Alison isn't Big A. She's crazy, manipulative and cold-hearted but she would never kill her own mother. I don't think she's A material but she's still a suspect in my sisters murder investigation." Hanna looked at the rear view mirror.

"Wait, Mina told Aria that Alison wanted Bethany dead. She said she was jealous of Bethany. And she said Alison was A and she had proof. What was her proof?"

"She said that?"

"Yeah."

"But Alison didn't even know Bethany." Mona looked at the steering wheel with an uneasy look.

"Mona, what was her proof?" Mona looked at Hanna and took a deep breath.

"CeCe Drake," Mona said. Hanna looked at Mona, puzzled.

"CeCe?"

"CeCe is Alison's real mother."

" _What?_ "

"From what I knew, CeCe and Alison were pretty close. Mina did some research and found out that CeCe's real name is Charlotte DiLaurentis. She's a 36 year old professor at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. I'm guessing CeCe told Ali she went to UPenn but little did Alison know, she worked there."

"Much to Mrs. D's dismay."

"What do you mean?" Mona asked. She brushed her long black hair out of her face.

"Mrs. D hated CeCe. She thought she was a bad influence on Alison but Ali loved CeCe. Mrs. D said they did everything together. She said they would pretend to be each other and stuff. We didn't even know who CeCe was until a couple months ago."

"Like mother like daughter I guess."

"Ya think?"

"Everything is so screwed up. I almost feel bad for Alison."

"But didn't CeCe and Jason date? Is he Ali's father?"

"No. CeCe had a lot of lies and I'm guessing Jason went along with them. Plus that would be incest."

" _WHAT?_ "

"CeCe is Mrs. D's oldest daughter."

"Wait, Mrs. D is Ali's..."

"Bingo! My guess is Mrs. D, being Mrs. D, didn't think that CeCe could take care of a baby and go to college at the same time so she made CeCe sign her rights over to her. CeCe goes to school, Mrs. D has a new baby to take care of, everybody's happy. Except when CeCe realizes her mistake and wants custody of her kids. Mrs. D turns up dead and the girl Alison thought was her best friend is actually her mother." Hanna mouthed the words _wow._

"That is some seriously messed up stuff."

"I know. And the worst part of all, Alison doesn't even know but Mina thought she did." Hanna grabbed Mona's hand.

"What does CeCe have to do with anything?"

Mona shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know maybe she killed Mina. Maybe she didn't."

Hanna licked her lips. "Wait, earlier you said Alison was still a suspect. Why?" Mona looks out of the window.

"Because she had every reason to want her dead. She knew everything about Alison."

"But it doesn't make any sense. In that video of Alison taking a lie detector test, she said, and I quote, _"I had nothing to do with Bethany Young's murder."_ If she in fact told the truth and had nothing to do with Bethany's murder, the info Mina and Spencer found out at Radley was wrong. Which means Ali would have no reason to kill Mina and she didn't kill Bethany." Mona looks out of the window again.

"That's true but like I said, Mina knew a _lot_ about Alison. Some of the things she never even told me and she told me almost everything. She said she would tell me more but she needed to do more research. All she wanted was to win for me." Mona bit her lip and took another deep breath.

"Where were you when you were away?" Hanna asked, looking at her watch.

"Well when I was released, my mother and I went to New York."

"Did Ali know about Mina?"

"Nope. Alison only knew things about you guys because you were stupid enough to tell her. No offense. "

"None taken."

"Alison knew things about me but she didn't know everything."

"How do I know you're not Mina?" Hanna looked at Mona, trying to figure out if she's Mina or Mona.

"Ask me anything," said Mona, confidently.

"How old was I when I broke my arm and how did it happen? I've only told you that."

"You were 11. You broke it when you were in a car accident. Ms. M had too much to drink and she collided with a garbage truck."

"Yup, you're Mona." Mona raised an eyebrow and laughed. Hanna smiled and started to laugh too. A few seconds went by.

"Does your mom know about you and Mina?"

"Yeah. I told her the day after Mina was murdered." Mona looked at her watch.

"I have to get go, Hanna."

"Mona, please don't leave."

"I have to, Hanna. It's not safe for me here." She grabbed Hanna's hands.

"I love you Hanna, and I'm gonna miss you." Tears started to roll down Hanna's face.

"Mona, please. I need you."

Mona started crying. "Hanna, I have to. It's what's best for my mother and I."

Hanna got out of the car and walked to the drivers side. "You might not be the one that's dead but you leaving and never coming back sure as hell feels like you are."

"Hanna, I promise when things are safe again, I will come back."

A few seconds go by.

Mona and Hanna wipe each others tears away. "Hanna, did you mean everything you said when you thought I was dead?"

"If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it. Goodbye Mona." Mona's eyes got watery as she put the key in the ignition.

"Hanna, wait. I have something to tell you but you can't say anything to anyone. I will continue to do my own research while I'm away and I will update you but I need you to listen."

"What is it?

"Promise me, Hanna."

"I promise I won't say anything."

"Mina knew Bethany. They were best friends at Radley. Bethany told her that her father is Byron Montgomery. So is Ali's."

"Oh my god!"

"I'm counting on you Hanna. I promise you I will tell you everything if you say nothing."

"If I can't contact you, how are you gonna find a way to tell me anything?"

"Because I'm Mona Vanderwaal."

Hanna nodded her head. "Right."

"Goodbye Hanna."

Hanna walked away. "Oh, Hanna, I have to tell you one more thing." Hanna turned around.

"What?"

"I'm not the one who hit you with a car. It was Noel. But it was sort of my fault." Hanna looked at Mona. A shocked look came across her face. As she's about to say something, Mona drove off into the distance.

Hanna walks back to the other side of the graveyard where she saw Emily and Alison waiting outside of the car.

"Are you alright?" Alison asked, as Hanna walked closer to the car.

"Yeah. Lets get out of here." Hanna looked around and smiles because she knew that if they can figure out who A was, there was hope that she may see Mona again. But you know what they say about hope, it breeds eternal misery.


End file.
